Newsquest’s Young Reporter scheme starts up again this month for the ninth year running, with new schools already signing up for the first time.

Open to pupils between the ages of 14 and 18, this extra-curricular activity has been a huge success and given students an opportunity to see their work published on a real live news platform.

Jodie Bowen from Croydon High and Shane Ward from Charles Darwin, top reporters for 2016, said that they would recommend this to anyone interested in writing.

Running for eight months, this opportunity gives students the chance to research and write up about local events affecting them and has been specifically designed to build confidence in young writers. 

Students start their ‘writing career’ uploading articles directly onto our website 'This is Local London' and they are able to build up a portfolio of their published work for use with their CVs and UCAS applications. 

Tessa Bartholomew, English Teacher at Hampton School for Boys, said:  “The Young Reporter Scheme offers teenage writers a rare opportunity to create and publish an online journalism portfolio for a real audience. Having run the scheme for several years, I would highly recommend it to staff and students alike.

“Participants develop a range of non-fiction writing skills as well as gaining experience of working independently and meeting deadlines. It is not time-consuming and Newsquest provides good support to teacher coordinators “

Schools worry that there will be a lot of extra work involved and more pressure put on teachers already stretched to the limits but that is not the case.  We do all the work, all they have to do is sign up the students.

For more information contact djarvis@london.newsquest.co.uk